In this month's RHIO Report

Rochester RHIO and Department of Veterans Affairs partner to support better patient care

Note: Revised standard consent forms (version 4/17 R)

Lifespan demonstrates the power of community data through Rochester RHIO

RHIO out and about: Upcoming events

Rochester RHIO and Department of Veterans Affairs partner to support better patient care

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Canandaigua VA Medical Center is now participating in the Rochester RHIO’s community Health Information Exchange (HIE). Many Veterans receive care from both VA and community providers. Participation in RHIO services will allow authorized VA users to securely look up medical information from community provider visits in RHIO’s clinical query tool, Explore (with patient consent).

By viewing secure data, clinicians will have access to a more comprehensive patient health record, which is important in determining a Veteran’s care and treatment plan. Veterans will also receive better coordinated care when seen by multiple providers.

"Our partnership with the VA represents the culmination of considerable perseverance and foresight by both organizations,” says Jill Eisenstein, chief executive officer and president of Rochester RHIO. “This is our first step in expanding connectivity between VA and community healthcare providers. We look forward to collaborating with regional VA staff to help improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare for our Veterans.”

“After years of working through various barriers, we are excited to partner with RHIO to provide secure health information access to VA providers. This will allow for improved continuity of care and help to reduce duplication of testing and services; with the ultimate goal being improved patient care for our Veterans, and reduced healthcare costs,” says Thomas A. Rocco, Jr., MD, FACP, FACC, Research Program Coordinator and Research Integrity Officer at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center.

Note: Revised standard consent forms (version 4/17 R)

A revised version of the Standard English Consent form is available. (4/17 R). Please use up any of the paper forms in the previous version (6/16 R). Once the previous paper forms are used up, please go to the Provider Portal and print copies of the revised version of the paper consent form (4/17 R) as needed until the new boxes of paper forms arrive. New boxes of the paper form are scheduled to arrive in early June.

If you use an electronic-only version of RHIO’s Standard English Consent form, please start using the new version (4/17 R) as soon as possible. There are no changes to the minor consent form at this time.

Lifespan demonstrates the power of community data through Rochester RHIO

“For us to be able to use real data about hospitalization and ED (emergency department) use could completely transform the work Lifespan does,” said Ann Marie Cook, President and CEO, Lifespan.

Lifespan is in the midst of a big data project that is breaking down the barriers between traditional medical care and community-based aging services. In partnership with Rochester RHIO (Regional Health Information Organization) and The New York Academy of Medicine, Lifespan is using an integrated approach to demonstrate how it improves the overall health of the people it serves (ages 60 and over).

“After people have been with us at least 90 days, they are staying out of the hospital and they are staying out of the emergency room; at a much better rate than before they were enrolled with us,” said Annie Wells, Director of Care Transitions, Lifespan.

The project is called Community Care Connections (CCC). Supported by a $2.5 million grant from the New York State Department of Health, Lifespan launched the Community Care Connections project in January 2016.

“The goal is to prove, quite frankly…whether social services and health care coordination have an impact on reducing ED visits and hospitalizations,” said Cook.

Founded in 1971, Lifespan’s sole mission is to help older adults take on both the challenges and opportunities of a longer life. The Community Care Connections project takes a look at how a person’s access to essentials like transportation, food, and shelter can positively impact a person’s health outlook.

What is the role of the Rochester RHIO? The RHIO securely receives the list of CCC project participants from Lifespan, matches the CCC participants with their number of hospitalizations and ED visits over a period of time, de-identifies the data, and sends it directly to The New York Academy of Medicine for further analysis and research. To date, there are over 700 participants in the program.

“This special data matching project that [Rochester] RHIO is assisting us with has been critical to demonstrating the effectiveness of our interventions,” said Wells. “Preliminary results are already showing a significant decrease in ED visits and hospitalizations.”

According to Lifespan, after one hospitalization, stats showed a 77% reduction in additional hospitalizations for program participants who are enrolled for at least 90 days.* In addition, after one emergency room visit, stats showed a 51% reduction in additional ED visits.* So far, the program is demonstrating a significant costs savings.

“For every dollar we spend, it generates savings of nearly $3.95 to the healthcare system, which really translates to [a savings of] $3.2 million,” said Cook.

Using data that is available through the community HIE instead of self-reported data has powerfully demonstrated the strength of the CCC program, which is available through Lifespan. It is one of 30 programs that Lifespan offers. For more information about Lifespan and the work that they do in their local community, go to http://www.lifespan-roch.org/.

*Notes: (i) Estimates are based on The New York Academy of Medicine’s analysis of data provided from the Rochester RHIO (Regional Health Information Organization) and Lifespan. (ii) Data for 272 clients enrolled in CCC program between January and August 2016.

Disclosure: Ann Marie Cook is also a Rochester RHIO board member.

RHIO out and about: Upcoming events

Rochester RHIO CEO Jill Eisenstein will be speaking at the 2017 Annual Conference for NYHIMA (New York Health Information Management Association) taking place from June 4 – 7 in Rochester. This year’s conference theme, according to the website, is “HIM: On the Road to Innovation.” For more information, or to register for the event, go to nyhima.org

Denise Dinoto, Rochester RHIO’s Community Services Director, will be participating in a panel discussion at an upcoming Digital Rochester event called, “Improving Transitions of Care with Innovative Techniques and Technology” on June 13 at the Irondequoit Country Club. According to the Digital Rochester website, panel members will discuss “how their organizations are measuring and preventing re-admissions to the hospital…”

Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) Networking Fair - Representatives from Rochester RHIO, as well as HealtheConnections and HealtheLink, will be at the RIT Inn & Conference Center on June 21 from 9 am – 1 pm! Deployment Coordinators will be on hand to answer questions regarding RHIO services, innovative technologies, and upcoming projects. For more information, or to register, go to nyehealth.org.

Quotes from our participants

“This special data matching project that RHIO is assisting us with has been critical to demonstrating the effectiveness of our interventions,” said Annie Wells, Director of Care Transitions, Lifespan.